Camel crisis

It's late afternoon, and I'm standing next to a boggy water hole on the edge of the community of Docker River on the Western Australian and Northern Territory border.

Behind me you can hear the sound of hundreds of camels slurping gallons of water. Today the temperature reached 46 degrees. It's no wonder the camels are thirsty.

To get at the water, the camels have pulled apart the town's main water supply. Water flows freely from the main water pipe, creating a boggy hole where kids play and camels drink.

Jude Pritchard says the camels will do anything to get water.

"The camels have worked out they can push over fire hydrants in order to get water. When they do that the water's off, the air conditioners don't work," says Jude.

In their desperate search for water, the camels have destroyed much of the local infrastructure.

"On a daily basis we have to monitor our power and water infrastructure. The camels are coming in for a drink if they don't get a drink they're dying within the community," says Stewart Stevens, Shire Services Manager.

"You can't open your back door without a camel trying to access your tap. They can't open the tap so they'll probably knock them over," says Stewart.

It's not just taps that have been destroyed. Fences, the airstrip, water pipes, power lines and air conditioners have all been damaged by camels.

Out bush, the situation is worse. Camels are laying waste to the countryside, contaminating fragile waterholes, eating native vegetation and wiping out the local animals.

"Literally just sticks of trees...bald country...the waterholes, always referred to as jewels of the desert," says Jude Pritchard who works for the Central Land Council as a feral animal officer.

For the people at Docker River, hunting and gathering bush tucker is an integral part of daily life.

But stories of young men never having hunted a kangaroo are starting to emerge. Lyle Kenny says there is real concern about the effect on local hunting practices.

"The camels are destroying the land. I've tried to take my son and all the young fellas out shooting for kangaroo. It's hard they must be afraid of the camels."

"It's the same with the bush tucker. The camels, they eat the main root. It's been eaten away and they can't grow anymore. They are just smashing everything up," says Lyle.

Despite this concern, there is still a certain regard for the camels.

Generations of locals have grown up side by side with the camels. Originally using them for transport and work, they are now often pets in the community.

Lyle has a pet camel he calls Lasseter. Lasseter is named after the cave where the baby camel was found dying.

"His Mum must have run away and he was stuck in the water hole. I saved his life from dingoes," says Lyle.

Many people have spoken of the intelligence and sensitivity of camels. Lyle agrees that they are special animals.

"When I sing out to him he listens to me and I talk to him in my language. He understands me. He's my family. He's in my heart."

Despite his love for Lasseter, Lyle sees the difference between a pet camel and a plague of camels. Lyle agrees that the cull must go ahead.

But a cull of any kind is always an emotive issue.

This week's cull of three thousand camels at Docker River has attracted international criticism from animal welfare advocates and members of the public outraged by the slaughter.

The local Shire office has reported receiving calls from as far away as Tokyo from people pleading for the cull to be stopped. Bloggers in the UK have called it inhumane.

For those who call it inhumane, Jude Prichard has one message.

"If I could describe the bald country that we flew over yesterday and the corpses of camels out there at water sites, this is the most humane way we can possibly resolve this problem," says Jude.